Announcements

Please report sandhill crane colt (chick) sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch. Include location, date, time and number of colts when first seen to reports@cranewatch.org or 235-6262.

An account has been set up at Wells Fargo for Alan Parks, whose home was destroyed in a fire on June 5. Contributions can be made to the “Start Over Fund for Alan Parks,” account number 149589270. Parks is a commercial fisherman, photographer and a longtime volunteer and trail groomer for the Kachemak Bay Nordic Ski Club.

The South Peninsula Haven House board of directors holds its annual meeting at 5:15 p.m. today at 3939 Lake St., Suite 1. The purpose of the meeting is to elect new officers. The meeting is open to the public.

The Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds its regular monthly board meeting at 7 p.m. today at the Kenai Peninsula Borough annex building, 206 E. Pioneer Ave. The public is welcome to attend. The agenda will be posted at the annex building and at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station. Call 235-9811 for more information.

Marshall Danby reviews and discusses “The Meanest Man in Texas” by Don Umphrey at 7 p.m. today at the East Homer Church of Christ, Mile 2 East End Road. Umphrey’s book is about a hardened criminal who finds redemption through God. Danby is a 1962 Homer High School graduate now active in prison ministries in Tennessee and Texas.

Faith Lutheran Church in Homer holds a free vacation Bible school, “Weird Animals: Where Jesus’ Love Is One-of-a-Kind,” from 9 a.m.-noon June 16-21. For ages 3 and up, in “Weird Animals,” kids will learn about some of God’s most creative creations. Kids at Weird Animals VBS will join an international mission effort to share God’s love by providing water for school children in India. Call the church office at 235-7600 or Gretchen at 399-2129 to find out how to register.

Nominations for Farm Family of the Year are open. The Alaska State Fair established the award in 2000 to honor an Alaska farming family that epitomizes the spirit of the industry and to show appreciation for all the hardworking Alaskans committed to agriculture and aquaculture in the state. Nominations are due on June 17. Nominations should offer details about the family and how the family members fulfill the criteria. Nominations should be mailed to Jacquelyn Schade, Farm Family, Alaska Division of Agriculture, 1800 Glenn Highway, Suite 12, Palmer, AK 99645, faxed to 907-745-7242 or emailed to Jacquelyn.Schade@alaska.gov.

The Center for Alaskan Coastal Stuides offers its “Creatures of the Dock” tour at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily. A trained naturalist helps visitors explore the invertebrate life living on and around the Homer Harbor docks. Meet at the yurt near Ramp 2. The fee is $5 and no reservation is necessary. For more information, call 235-6667.

The Kenai Peninsula District 4-H Council invites interested performers and vendors to apply to be in the 4-H Summer Solstice Music Festival on June 21 at the Diamond M Ranch in Kenai. To be considered for this year’s festival, performers and vendors should sign up at www.alaska4h.org/kenai-peninsula-4-h-summer-solstice-music-festival.html. Festival admission is free. Participants are encouraged to car-pool. On-site parking is $10 per car and $5 per motorcycle.

ASSE International Student Exchange Programs (ASSE) seeks local host families for international high school boys and girls. These students are 15 to 18 years of age, and are coming to this area for the upcoming high school year or semester. These exchange students are conversant in English, bright, curious and anxious to learn about this country through living as part of a family, attending high school and sharing their own culture and language with their newly adopted host family. The exchange students arrive from their home country shortly before school begins and return at the end of the school year or semester. Each ASSE student is fully insured, brings his or her own personal spending money and expects to contribute to his or her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles. The students are well screened and qualified by ASSE. Families can choose their students from a wide variety of backgrounds, nationalities and personal interests. Those persons interested in obtaining more information about becoming a host family should call toll free 800-733-2773 or go to host.asse.com.

Cooperative Extension Service

With summertime on the way, thoughts of picnics on the grass seem like a great idea. Is your lawn looking good and ready for the barefoot crowds? Perhaps you need to reseed some spots or are wondering about fertilizer. Cooperative Extension Service has a free publication to help with your lawn dreams. “Establishing and Maintaining a Lawn in Southcentral and Interior Alaska” will answer your questions and put you on the road to your fresh mown grass. The Cooperative Extension Service is a year round resource for a variety of topics. Visit www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/kenai/ to find this publication and more or stop by 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Doors and Windows Building on Kalifornsky Beach Road, Soldotna.

Friendship Center

Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations. Special programs are offered daily, including story time, crafts and musical performances. For more information, call 235-4556.

Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. The cost per class is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers. Call Daniel Weisser at 235-7655.

Caregiver Support Group meets 2-3:30 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday in the senior center dining room. Call Pam Hooker at 299-7198 or Daniel Weisser at 235-7655.

Kachemak Bay Campus

Last-minute registration is now being held for the 2014 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, June 13-17, featuring 19 visiting, local and statewide poets and creative literary nonfiction and fiction writers. For more information, see writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.

The Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference annual Festival of Readings with readings by 15 poets, novelists and essayists is June 14-16. Keynote speaker Alice Sebold reads at 8 p.m. June 14 at the Mariner Theatre. Other readings are at 7:30 p.m. June 15 at the Homer Elks Lodge and at 7:30 p.m. June 16 at Land’s End Resort.

National Book Award finalist Debbie Dahl Edwardson, will conduct a Young Writers’ Workshop for 10th-12th graders from 9 a.m.-noon Friday. The fee is $60. Register at KBC.

Pratt Museum

The museum galleries are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Business offices are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

“Putting By: Food Identity on the Kenai,” focuses on foods collected and preserved to last the winter and is on exhibit through June 22.

Historic Harbor Tours start Friday and are held at 3 p.m. every Friday and Saturday through Aug. 23. Meet at the wheelhouse in front of the Salty Dawg on the Homer Spit. The fee is $10 per person.

South Peninsula Hospital

Upcoming training opportunities at South Peninsula Hospital are:

• American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers courses at 8 a.m. on June 13 and June 27.

• Safe Sitter class on June 25 and 26. This two-day course is designed for 11- to 13-year-olds to learn basic child care skills and prepare them to provide quality babysitting services. Space is limited; registration is required.

To register for these classes, call the hospital education department at 235-0258.

SVT Health & Wellness

SVT Health & Wellness offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Medicinal Plant Walk” with Nancy Lee-Evans.Join her for a fun and informative beach walk introducing you to the medicine and food at your front door. Identify plants available during the summer and learn their edible, nutritional and medicinal value. Meet at the wellness center parking lot at 6 p.m. and then carpool down to Bishop’s Beach (or meet at the Bishop’s Beach parking lot around 6:15 p.m.). Wear comfortable clothing and shoes; the walk is held rain or shine. The classes are open to the public. For more information, call 226-2228 ext. 660.